Russia's trade with China may reach the $100 billion mark by the end of the year, Russian presidential foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said Friday, May 16, according to RIA Novosti.

“The outlook for this year is very favorable, judging from the growth rates for trade in the first quarter of 2014, we can go as far as $100 billion in bilateral turnover by the end of the year,” he said.

Ushakov added that China remains a major trading partner for Russia, with bilateral trade reaching $88.8 billion last year.

According to data released in early May by China’s General Administration of Customs, Chinese-Russian trade turnover for the first quarter period increased by 3.4 percent year-on-year to $29.05 billion.

In line with the most recent figures, Chinese Ambassador Li Hui earlier lauded the continued growth of Russian-Chinese bilateral cooperation. In a continued effort to cement business ties with Beijing, Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit China next week to sign a number of bilateral agreements, including potential Russian gas supplies to China.